Waking Up In The Wild
by ConsumedByTheShadows
Summary: What would you do if you woke up to an impossible situation? Most would try to deny and avoid it like the plague. This is hard to accomplish for a young man when he's stuck in a world he thought was fictional. He didn't want this. Not by a long shot, but he'll do his best to make the most of it. Mainly follows Male!OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** There will be strong language and heavy spoilers throughout this story. If you wish to experience the surprise yourself I suggest you play at least a little of The Breath Of The Wild before starting this.

* * *

The peak of Hyrule's glory has long passed ever since the (brief) rise and fall of Calamity Ganon. The castle itself lies in ruins and serves as a reminder of the kingdom's failure. Hylians are an adaptable race, and they eventually forged ahead out of the hopeless situation. The surviving people could only rebuild far away from the wreckage and even further away from the searching eyes of the Guardians.

Even now the people of Hyrule strive to make things work as they go about their daily lives. It isn't easy, as there are monsters outside of the known settlements as well as Yiga Clan members that terrorize all who encounter them. Yet hope is still alive even without their Princess and her Champions.

Many years have passed since the fall of their leaders. King Rhoam fell to the Calamity once the castle became the next battle ground. Zelda went missing around the same time as her father, and was presumed dead by most of the populace. Even the Champions were no better off.

With four most likely dead, and the fifth in a healing coma the world was forced to go on without them. Only the people who placed the Hylian Champion in the healing chamber knew that he had a chance to survive. As time went on the few in the know could only hope that their effort wasn't in vain. No one had a clue as to when the severely injured Hylian would wake up. There was only speculation as the Resurrection Chamber wasn't fully tested before, so the results could vary. Will he wake up at all, and if so, will he still be the same?

* * *

Days continued to pass without much changing. This was especially true for the Great Plateau. With none of the known races living high up in that area the land hardly saw change. That's not to say that it was devoid of conscious life. Monsters such as bokoblins made their home there as well as various animals and insects. However, even the bokoblins stuck to a routine of sorts, and didn't stray far from their territory in case something new were to show up.

It was on another quiet evening that something, or rather someone, appeared in an unconscious heap. It was fortunate that he landed far from any monster camps, and was well hidden in the shade of the trees. A soft groan went unheard by any, as the male continued to lie face down in the middle of a forest until the next morning's dawn.

The sun's light pierced the canopy of trees and fell onto the sleeping man's eyelids. There was also a somewhat constant breeze that began to caress his hair and tickle his nose. That combo is what stirred him into consciousness whilst simultaneously scaring the shit out of him. _"It's so warm out. How..."_ His eyes fluttered open to take in his surroundings.

There were two things that he took note of from his uncomfortable position on the ground. One, was that it was far warmer than it should be for being in the middle of winter. The second was that he didn't recognize his surroundings at all. The day before was fuzzy, but he didn't think he would've traveled on foot into the middle of a forest and promptly pass out. He wasn't much of a drinker, and his friends weren't complete assholes, so that rules out a shitty prank or wandering around black out drunk.

He tried to feel out for any injuries before slowly dragging his body into a sitting position. Thankfully nothing felt out of place aside from a few aches, but that was probably due to sleeping in the same pose for hours on the forest floor. Looking down at his lap led to a new discovery as well. He was wearing an outfit that he never saw before.

The clothing seemed sturdier than his usual style. It looked more suitable for traveling for long periods of time. He felt weird but comfortable with his ensemble of a heavy dark blue shirt and black pants that fit snugly into his black leather boots. A small black leather bag connected to a dark belt completed the get up.

He briefly shook the bag and decided he would check what he had on him pretty soon. _"It's not like too much could fit in there. Wait... I didn't hear my keys, and I don't have pockets on these clothes."_ The man pondered the possibility of being kidnapped while he checked his surroundings with cautious eyes.

He decided that his situation could easily get weirder. Not only were there no signs of a struggle around him, but there weren't any tracks whatsoever that could show where he came from. _"It's like I fell from the sky only to land here. How are there no indicators showing where I first walked in?"_ A soft sound interrupted his thoughts.

He whirled around in a mixture of fear and relief that maybe someone found him. Only to be disappointed as a large deer came into focus. He let out a low sigh of frustration as he thought about what he should do next. The deer jerked its head around to look straight at him immediately after, before bolting off in the opposite direction.

With a disgruntled frown he slowly made his way towards where the deer was first spotted. Soon enough he walked the distance and stopped to check the ground. _"Even the deer left prints just now..."_ He looked up and frowned again before he spotted a nearby grove. The trees parted more than usual to let rays of sunshine fall completely onto a field of wild flowers. He continued towards the center without hesitation and noticed a sparkle coming from a particularly tall bush of flowers.

Curiosity spurned him on, and within seconds he brushed the plants away to reveal a shiny treasure chest. It wasn't any old chest though. The letters EX+ stared mockingly at him as he openly glared at it. _"Shit. This is familiar. Why is this so damn familiar..."_

The chest was almost flung open in his haste to get answers. He hurriedly looked inside and grabbed the treasure that awaited him. He held the object up in what seemed like a practiced motion and thought that he must have pissed off some kind of deity as the sound 'Daa Naa Naaa Naaaaa' came out of nowhere to mock him. He lowered his arms and looked down in panic as the item in his hands became familiar.

 _"I'm holding the sand rod. Why am I, no- how am I holding the sand rod? Wait, this could be a replica made by a crazy fan. Yeah, and the sound from earlier could have been made from a recording placed in the chest."_

He frantically waved the rod towards a far tree and freaked out when a large ball of sand hurtled towards it. The coarse sand pelted the tree at a fast pace only to leave small holes behind in the bark. He felt more than saw when a leather holster for the rod appeared on his back. "God damn it!"

He marched away from the offending treasure chest with purpose. The only thing he could think of was to check his bag for what should hold his wallet and inhaler. He undid the clasp and took out the sole object with shaking hands. Neither object was even close to what it turned out to be. Some sort of machine with the sheikah symbol on one side graced his vision. A sinking feeling appeared in his stomach as he thought, _"There's no way that I'm stuck in The Legend Of Zelda."_


	2. Chapter 2

It was one thing to play games from The Legend Of Zelda series, and another to live through them. The man knew that danger lurked in almost every corner of each Zelda game. It wasn't only Link that could be attacked at random. Everyone was fair game if they ran into a monster. _"Can the sand rod protect me from enemies? It looked like it did more damage here than in 'Link Between_ _Worlds'."_

He turned away from the field and began a series of tests. The rod was waved down towards a tree and had the same results as before. A large orb of sand was blasted straight ahead at it hard enough to leave marks in the bark. A different movement led to a smaller amount of sand flying slightly slower at its target. The impact didn't leave a single mark in the tree this time. _"So pointing it in a direction still lets me blind targets. At least I have a chance to bail if I'm in danger."_

The next step was to figure out how to clasp the sand rod to the harness. He placed the item diagonally across his back to match the holder, and was surprised when it secured itself on its own. A further test revealed that it easily comes off once he grabbed it from his back. _"That doesn't make- never mind. I won't waste time questioning something this small."_

He felt slightly more confident as he made his way out of the flower field. He had a reliable weapon and an unknown sheikah device now hanging in view from his belt. He tried turning it on earlier, but it hasn't reacted to anything yet. This led him to place it in his sight on the off chance that it responds to something.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking aimlessly he got fed up and began climbing a tree. It took some time, but was worth it when he saw a break in the canopy of green. He quickly began his descent and started jogging towards his goal. An apple tree was spotted along the way, and he happily grabbed as many ripe ones as he could reach. Four of the sweet fruit were devoured while the three that were left barely fit in his now empty leather bag.

The rest of the way was spent in nervous excitement as he didn't know what to expect outside of the forest. For some reason the name of this game wasn't coming to him. It was confusing because he played most of the Zelda games before, and knew almost all of the names of the ones that he hasn't. There was nothing he could do about that right now, so he hoped that some landmarks outside may shed some light on his situation.

The view from the outskirts of the unknown forest did nothing to appease his curiosity. If anything, it made him all the more curious. Sunlight was beaming down from the sky now that there wasn't anything to obstruct its path. Groups of clouds could now be seen as they lazily made their way across the horizon. All the while a slight breeze picked up and began to make his hair, and the plants around him, sway with the wind.

It all served to further highlight the beauty of the nature around him. The world looked vibrant, alive, and most importantly real. The only issue was that the scenery did nothing to jog his memory.

He stood stock still while he took in his surroundings. The place he was in now seemed humongous compared to the forested area he just left. It was hard to believe that this was just a game, and to be honest he was starting to doubt that he was in one again. _"I don't see anything related to the Zelda series from here. There's just rolling hills full of green grass, birds landing in the distance, and a... cooking pot sitting mostly hidden within a circle of trees."_

A mental note was made to seek out the prime camping spot once evening inevitably came around. He set off with a spring in his step now that he had a tentative plan. He would explore all that he could during the day before coming back here to regroup and sleep in a relatively safe place.

His exploration mission was going pretty well all things considered. He noted that there were a couple of freshwater lakes which held fish somewhat close by. A few more apple trees were also found along the way. He knew he needed as much food as possible right now, so he proceeded to take as many as he could carry with him.

His bag was already stuffed with food, however, so he tried placing more in his shirt. With no one in sight he felt slightly better about looking like a fool, though he wouldn't change a thing if there was an audience. Survival is more important than pride in the end.

He continued on his way without any problems while taking note of the various wildlife around him. A slightly wooded area eventually came into view which he eagerly moved to enter. Small bushes of peppers were found not much later. He decided to grab those too on the off chance that they were okay to eat. His shirt was brimming with food at this point, so it became a bit harder to keep it all inside. He was adjusting his grip on the fabric and turned around to head back when he ran face first into someone.

He landed on his bottom, but thankfully kept his hold around the shirt. None of his food would be wasted if he could help it. A thud met his ears which led him to believe that the other person fell like he did. He quickly got up with an apology on his lips. "Shit, I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going-" He was startled when he got a full view of who he bumped into. It was a red bokoblin, and it looked like he pissed it off. Its wooden club fell out of its hands during the collision, which gave him a little bit of time to make a plan.

The young man knew that he was in a precarious situation. Both of his hands had to be used most of the time if he wanted to keep a hold on his food. _"Maybe that will work..."_ He slowly moved his left hand to grab an apple whilst hiking up his shirt to keep a better grip with his right. The movement caught the attention of the bokoblin immediately and startled it into taking a defensive step back.

He thought better of offering the apple straight to the wary monster and set one down on the ground in front of him. Two more were placed next to the first before he booked it around the red creature and then out of the woods completely. He went out of his way to weave through trees and find cover every so often on the off chance that it tried following him.

He hastily made his way back to the empty camp site he found a few hours ago. It was as he gratefully sunk to the floor that he thanked any deity who would listen for the shade it provided. The food in his shirt was kept still by loosely holding it with one hand on his lap. His body began to recover, and with it came a flood of thoughts.

 _"Fuck. I didn't even hear it walk towards me. Was it following me, or did it bump into me on accident?"_ The details from the encounter slowly came into focus.

 _"The weapon was sparkling. Nothing else gave that kind of reaction before now."_ He promptly ran a hand over his face when it came to him. _"God damn it. Of course it's one of the games I never finished."_ He knew without a doubt which story he was stuck in. _"It has to be 'The Breath Of The Wild'."_


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the evening was a tense affair. He didn't want to tempt fate into throwing something else his way so he stuck to the shadows that his small camp provided. There was a definite worry that the monster would sneak into the camp in the middle of the night with its companions. It's nice that he found a weapon to defend himself, but he hasn't had any fighting experience that he can recall from the past. _"Hopefully the food kept it busy enough that it couldn't track me."_

With a potential enemy out there and no way to make a light source he was getting very stressed. The day was basically gone at this point, and he felt unprepared for his first night. He didn't take the time to go out and find pieces of wood or even figure out a way to light them before the last incident. While the bushy pine trees surrounding his camp provided excellent cover they unfortunately didn't conceal any broken branches. Even if flint was an option it wasn't like he had any metal to strike it with.

It was with an anxious sigh that the young man placed his uneaten food in the empty cooking pot and tried to pass out in the darkness of his camp. The task was more difficult without the comforts of a pillow, or even a blanket to stave off the sudden chill in the night. The crickets chirping along with a frog's persistent croaking didn't help him either. It took a few hours until he finally succumbed to a fitful sleep. It was as he lost consciousness that another opened their eyes for the first time in over 100 years.

* * *

Confusion warred with exhaustion as a man took in his surroundings. The room he woke up in was dark aside from the bright runes that lined the walls and the giant glowing structure he woke up under. It was deathly silent, which suggested that he's alone at least for the moment.

He wracked his brain for any kind of information he could use. Nothing came to mind aside from one thing. While it was good to know that his name was Link, it didn't help him to understand his situation.

He simply lied there while trying to process what was happening. Eventually he got tired of the questions burning inside and tried to sit up. His muscles struggled to obey what his mind told them until he shakily managed the task. Link recovered from the exertion shortly after and turned tired blue eyes to search the rest of the room.

What he noticed was odd. The room was sparsely furnished with the table he's currently sitting on, and a glowing stone dais sitting next to a large door. He couldn't see a handle or any kind of lock from his current position. From there he turned his focus towards himself.

As he looked down he startled slightly in embarrassment. The only piece of clothing he had on was a pair of boxers. Surely there should have been something in here for him to wear, but there obviously wasn't anything that could even hold clothing aside from the table he woke up on. In another moment he decided to stand up and slowly touched his feet to the floor. He managed to place both hands on the table to brace himself as he attempted to hold up his own weight.

Dizziness overcame his senses for a minute before going away altogether. He felt much better after the dizzy spell abated, and soldiered on towards his destination at a slow pace. Frustration lined his every movement, as Link thought he shouldn't have this much trouble with walking of all things. When he approached the glowing dais it was made clear to him that it held an object that was probably important.

As if hearing his thoughts a feminine voice cut through the silence of the cave to tell him so. "Link... The Sheikah Slate. Please take it with you." He looked around for the source of the advice, but found no one in the small room aside from himself. With a shrug he grabbed the 'Slate', as the voice told him to call it, and watched the stone dais change before him.

The mechanism holding the Sheikah Slate glowed briefly before activating the door that was currently barring his exit. As it opened the young man could only stare in disappointment from his limited view. He was still stuck in a cold, dark cave for an indefinite amount of time. He marched forwards with a scowl as his situation kept getting more irritating as he went.

It wasn't too much of a surprise to see that there weren't any other people in the next room. The layout was decidedly different at least, which lightened his mood somewhat. Blue lights adorned the walls to his left and right, which cast a futuristic glow about the room. Two ancient looking chests lie close to the door which he eyed suspiciously. Dust coated both of them in thick layers that he wasn't eager to disturb. Curiosity overpowered his paranoia in this moment as he hesitantly kicked open the first chest. Pain erupted from his stubbed toe at the contact.

When the pain faded he saw that it held a frayed shirt, and that only caused him to have more questions. Another kick led to a pair of short, faded pants being brought into the light. A dust cloud blew around him as he eyed the so called 'treasures' before him. Link didn't have any better options to choose from, so he hesitantly put on the clothing that was clearly too small for him. The Slate was then hung from his 'new' clothing by a belt around his waist. It was shortly after that he turned his focus towards the far end of the room.

A flat metal wall met his eyes from the other side of the large space. The only design to grace it was the same symbol that was on his Slate. He grabbed the unresponsive device and turned it over in his hands. When nothing further occurred from his prodding he walked towards the only other object of notice. The podium looked a tad bit more impressive than the last with a large glowing symbol covering most of its surface. He held the Slate over it without hesitation and was startled when a spot near his feet lit up.

Nothing else happened for a while. Link began to fear that the device wouldn't allow him to exit the room, but was proven wrong as the wall finally reacted. The symbol began to glow and the wall slowly rose up into the ceiling. He attached the Slate to his belt with a relieved sigh when he suddenly heard the disembodied voice again.

"The world has grown dark with your absence. Let the light shine upon Hyrule once more and set it free..." She trailed off towards the end in a whisper. There was a lot of passion in her statement despite the fatigue he could hear in her tone. The mystery woman's voice filled him with determination as he walked through the doorway.

He quickly ascended the stairs and climbed up the stone wall before he noticed an opening. The joy he thought he would feel at gaining his freedom fell short as soon as he walked the remaining distance to the door. Darkness met his sight from all directions save for the shine of the moon and the twinkling of the stars. No matter the situation, Link knew that he didn't want to go back to the room he woke up in. _"I'll wait here until the morning. Then it should be safe to look around."_ He settled in behind the mouth of the cave and did just that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything from The Legend Of Zelda series.

 **AN:** _ **"This means someone is reading something."**_

Tired green eyes opened after what felt like a few minutes of rest. In reality it was about seven hours, but he had no clue since he didn't have a watch. The sun was high in the sky, but it wasn't the reason that he woke up this time. No, that honor goes to a persistent beeping sound that's coming from his hip. He lazily pulled himself into a full body stretch before sitting up with a satisfied smile. It was as he looked down in his lap that he quickly began to wake up.

The tech on his hip was apparently active now. He didn't know what caused it to react, but he was happy regardless of how it happened. The Sheikah symbol was present on the screen and was pulsing with a dark green light. He unhooked the tablet from his belt and held it up to inspect. One pointer finger later and the device was scanning him.

 ** _"Designation confirmed. Voice recognition required for complete analysis. Recording..."_** He read the non English words with surprising ease. He was confused with the sudden knowledge that he seemed to possess, but decided to just roll with it since no one was around to answer his questions.

"Hello, I don't know what I should say... I woke up in a forest and have no clue how I got there." It was enough, he guessed, since the device showed more text. _**"Voice recognized. Hello new user. I am a Sheikah Slate. You may use me to store items at any time. To check your inventory simply tap the screen to activate me and touch the item option. Otherwise you may tell me what you need from storage and I will provide. There's a voice activated help option if you require more information on my capabilities. However, all other functions are currently unavailable without an active tower."**_

He processed what the possibly sentient Slate told him before voicing his thoughts. "Could you show me the item screen?" A moment passed before the symbol faded from the screen, and the image changed to show my inventory. "Thanks." The young man scrolled through each page and took note of what he had. He wasn't too upset when the weapon page didn't hold anything new. He already had the sand rod, and it was good enough for now. He did hope to have a bow or a shield on their respective screens, but was disappointed from the lack of both. It was the clothing screen that caught his full attention.

There were a lot of things that he'd been avoiding once he woke up here. The first thing was his reflection. He noticed almost right after he woke up in the forest that his hair looked different. He had long bangs falling over the right side of his face that were a deep, dark purple. The rest of his appearance was a mystery that he was almost afraid to solve considering that a stranger might stare back at him from a mirror.

The clothing page shut down his attempt at avoidance. The top right corner of the screen showed him exactly what he looked like. A familiar face looked back at him despite his worries. It was just a shame that it wasn't his. He stared at the image in silence and took a moment to calm down.

He was starting to remember bits about the game he was stuck in. Things like the benefits of cooking certain dishes and that Beetle somehow appears at every stable no matter how fast you teleport to them. Small things really, aside from one thing. He remembered Link's appearance, and he looks quite similar to him now. There were some obvious differences in coloring, so he was thankful for that. _"I don't think we can be confused for each other at least."_

He forced his eyes away from the image in order to inspect his clothing. Tapping the two pieces gave him the information he needed. Both were part of a specific clothing set. He sighed in relief when he realized that he wasn't a mere shadow of Link or one fourth of him that would disappear forever once he finished his quest. There was only one guy he could be, and that was Ravio. A parallel of Link from the kingdom of Lorule.

 _"It seems almost poetic that I found his sand rod before anything else. I'll definitely be using it rather than loaning it out to other adventurers."_

He skimmed through the rest of his inventory with fervor and was happily surprised with what he found. There wasn't any extra food in there, but there were equally as important items waiting for him to use. A sizable amount of flint and wood along with a small metal knife were his first priority. However, he was equally as happy to see some travel gear. All of it would help him to survive more comfortably in the wild. _"At least I won't have to sleep directly on the ground tonight."_

The Link lookalike decided to test his Slate by holding up one of his peppers and pressing it to the screen's surface. It disappeared with little more than a soft green light and left him grinning with excitement. He checked his inventory and was happy to note that one spicy pepper was added to his food stash. The rest of his food was added save for what he planned on cooking for breakfast. He retrieved one stack of wood along with one piece of flint and easily started a flame under the cooking pot with his metal knife.

Two peppers and three apples were then thrown into the pot. He didn't know if he needed to do any special motions to make his food. In his world he would need to stir the food and watch the time so he wouldn't burn it, but this world could still hold rules from the original game. Would he have to play by his rules or simply wait and play by the game's rules? As he debated on what to do the pot continued to cook the food until it changed shape and began to sparkle.

 _"Well that solves one mystery."_

He asked the slate for a bowl and ladle before helping himself to his first cooked meal in the 'Zelda Verse'. A spicy aroma filled the air and made his stomach growl in anticipation. He eagerly got a fork from the Slate and dug into his meal with gusto. The steaming fruit smelled amazing and tasted as good as he hoped. He forked himself another tender piece as he thought about his situation.

 _"Okay. My shitty living conditions just got significantly less impossible to deal with. That doesn't mean I'm completely in the clear though. I still need a plan. Specifically involving one hero of courage."_

He made a tentative plan as he finished eating and placed his dirty dishes back into the Slate for later. The young man then asked it a few questions and was pleasantly surprised to note that any food placed into it stays in stasis. Meaning that none of it can spoil. He immediately went to work on making as many dishes as possible with his finite amount of ingredients. Seven mixed dishes later and he was ready to head off on an excursion for the day.

He would attempt to scout the large area that he was stuck in and try to do a few things. Foraging for food was always a priority, but he was also going to try to find major land marks. If none of the towers were active yet then Link was still somewhere on the Great Plateau with him. All he needed to do was find the Temple Of Time and he could make his way to the Resurrection Chamber from there. It might take a while, but he has nothing but time on his hands since he's stuck on the Plateau for the foreseeable future.

With his preparations complete he took his first step out of the safety of his camp. He tried to avoid thinking about the possibility of Link not waking up for months or even years from now. Those thoughts were forced down as he started walking south in the hopes that he would see the Temple in the distance. He started focusing on the positive aspects of his journey to keep his mind occupied.

His first thought was that his stomach was full and he was easily finding more food to forage as he went. The next was that he would have even more food to cook with now that the Slate could tell him information about the plants he doesn't remember. Lastly, there was the fact that both of his hands were available if he ran into an enemy. There was no running away this time if he could help it. He's as ready as he can get, and he hopes that it's enough.

 _"Link shouldn't be too hard to find. Once I get to the Temple it'll be easy to spot him."_

If only he knew that Link wasn't asleep anymore.

 **AN2:** I tried to get more interaction with the main character so it wasn't just him thinking to himself occasionally. I'll eventually have more than just the Sheikah Slate for him to talk to in later chapters.

 **AN3:** I'm glad that people are liking this story and I appreciate that people are taking the time to leave a review. I may not respond to the reviews at times, but I do read through all of them. Also, I take suggestions that people make under consideration, but that doesn't necessarily mean that I will be applying them to this story.


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